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Terence Allen and Graham Cowling

The Cell: A Very Short Introduction describes the nature of cells — their basic structure, their varying forms, their division, their differentiation from initially highly ...
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The Cell: A Very Short Introduction describes the nature of cells — their basic structure, their varying forms, their division, their differentiation from initially highly flexible stem cells, their signalling, and programmed death. Cells are the basic constituent of life, and understanding cells and how they work is central to all biology and medicine. A cell is the simplest unit of a self-contained living organism, and the vast majority of life on Earth consists of single-celled microbes, mostly bacteria. These consist of a simple ‘prokaryotic’ cell, with no nucleus. The bodies of more complex plants and animals consist of billions of ‘eukaryotic’ cells, of varying kinds, adapted to fill different roles.Less

Jonathan Slack

Stem Cells: A Very Short Introduction introduces stem cells: explains what they are, what scientists do with them, what stem cell therapies are available today, and how they ...
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Stem Cells: A Very Short Introduction introduces stem cells: explains what they are, what scientists do with them, what stem cell therapies are available today, and how they might be used in future. The difference between embryonic stem cells, which exist only in laboratory cultures, and tissue-specific stem cells, which exist in our bodies, are explained. Embryonic stem cells can become any cell type in the body, so diseases that may in future be treated by functional cells derived from these sorts of stem cell include diabetes, Parkinson's disease, heart disease, and spinal trauma. The properties of tissue-specific stem cells and the technique of bone marrow transplantation are also discussed.Less